Roger Moore, best known for playing the iconic British secret service agent James Bond in seven films, has made a statement about the captive SeaWorld orca named Morgan.
Moore is responding to a viral video featuring the whale stranding herself on a concrete slab in order to escape aggressive tank mates.
#SeaWorld #Orca #Morgan Is Deaf, Leaping Out Of Tank To Escape #Bullying https://t.co/JF9JHHfCG8
— Nancy J. Bailey (@cliffysmom) June 10, 2016
The animal activist group PETA published the comments about Morgan the orca by Sir Roger Moore on their Wednesday blog post.
“How much longer must highly intelligent and self-aware individuals like Morgan suffer before we understand that other species are not on this Earth for our amusement?”
A #SeaWorld -Owned Orca May Have Tried To Kill Itself In An Enclosure @UPROXX https://t.co/uPMm6jL1kH #Blackfish CAP pic.twitter.com/kueWPZcCGC
— Orca S?O?S (@OrcaSOS) June 6, 2016
“It’s clear to anyone with a brain and an ounce of compassion that marine parks are nothing more than concrete prisons which cause captive marine animals a world of suffering.
“Orcas at these facilities are forced to toil day after day, repeating the same endless tasks with no choice in the matter and no means of escape – how utterly miserable their lives must be.”
Sir Roger Moore Speaks Out for Orca Morgan https://t.co/iac73DSx7P
TY ? @sirrogermoore #FreeMORGAN #Blackfish pic.twitter.com/BMmXZVIHXN
— Orca S?O?S (@OrcaSOS) June 8, 2016
“The only way to end the abuse of captive orcas and other marine animals is to stay away from and speak out against facilities that keep them captive – and I urge everyone to join me in doing just that.”
A longtime activist and a staunch vegetarian, Moore has been extremely vocal about matters involving animal welfare.
In 2015, the Independent reported that Moore blasted a Minnesota dentist who famously killed Cecil the lion in an illegal shooting with a crossbow.
#Cecil Lion #Safari Club International: Convention In Las Vegas To Auction 600 #Trophy #Hunts https://t.co/l2mXobJuR3 — Nancy J. Bailey (@cliffysmom) February 4, 2016
The big cat was wounded and suffered for hours after being lured from his sanctuary with bait. Following his death, the dentist chopped off the animal’s head.
Like many other animal lovers across the world, Moore expressed his outrage.
“You’d be forgiven for thinking that behind the dentist’s unnaturally white teeth is a person devoid of moral fibre, conscience or decency.
“Clearly, he’s gunning his way through the animal kingdom, and who among us feels that we live in a civilised society while he’s on the loose? He must be stopped and brought to justice.”
Moore isn’t the first celebrity to speak out about orcas in captivity, according to charity site Look to the Stars. Orca Network, a group organized to foster a stewardship ethic to protect and restore orca habitat, boasts a list of famous supporters.
- 50 Cent
- Billy Zane
- Harrison Ford
- Janet Jackson
- Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Johnny Depp
- Placido Domingo
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Snoop Lion
The movement to free Morgan the orca has been cutting a swathe over the internet since she was captured in 2010. She is now held in Loro Parque Tenerife, an amusement facility in Spain which has links to SeaWorld.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhx7YHRl6fQ
Morgan has been in the news recently due to seemingly frustrated behavior on her part. She appeared in an earlier 2016 video body-slamming a metal gate, and now more than once has been shared on social media beaching herself on a concrete slab in an apparent attempt to escape harassment from other whales.
Roger Moore is now 88-years-old. He continues to remain active and supports charities such as UNICEF. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2003.
[Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Images]
